Bearing surface



Eepto 27, 1932. c. s. KLUMPP ET AL BEARING SURFACE Original-Filed. May 51. 1928 P s R m N R m am m l m IFIQ aQ Y B Patented Sept. 27, 1932 UNI-TED srn'r151s PATENT: ounce:

CARL s. KLUMPP, on BROOKLYN, NEW-YORK, AND nonnnrn. rorrnnor JERSEY CITY; NEW JERSEY I BEARING. SURFACE Continuation of application Serial No. 281,629,. filed May 31, 1928. This application filed August 18, 1931. Serial No. 557,796; 1

This invention relatesin general to bearing surfaces for supporting sliding doors and the like.

One of the objects of this'invention is the {5; provision of an improved construction in bearing surfaces ortracks for sliding doors and the like.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of means of the above type LID. which is adapted to automatically and continuously present a fresh bearing surface to the hanger rollers which support the door as they move'thereo-ver.

Afurther object of this invention is the i 1 provision. in apparatus ofthe above type of a bearingsurface which may bemanually adjusted to present a new bearing surface from time to time.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a'bearing surface of theabove- 5 rollers.

type arranged to be free to rotate and or move longitudinally, actuated by the normal movement of the door hanger rollers to produce" continual change of bearing surface for the These and many other objects, as will appear from the following disclosure, are secured by means of this invention.

This invention resides substantially in the f combination, construction, arrangement; and

relative location of parts, all as will be more ful'lydescribed in this specification.

This application is a'continuation of our copending application" Serial No. 281,629,- '35" porting the bearing surface.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line M of Fig. .1 showinghow the rollers may be longitudinally displaced in one form of the invention.

It may first be stated that this invention relates to an improved "bearing surface for any type of tracks or hangers for supporting loads on wheels, ball bearings, roller bearings, and the like, such as rolling cardoor tracks, elevator door tracks-barn door tracks, 'and other types of t'racksand doors wherever the principles'of this invention may be applicable.

In the doors as used on street, elevated, subway, railway cars, and the like, a track forming part of or attachedfto the carstructure extends longitudinally of the door opening and above or belowit. The doors are supported therefrom by means of hangers or bearings on which are rotatably mounted rollersor balls having convex surfaces which ride onthe track. It has been found in practicethat the.

jarring and vibration due to movement of the vehicle and/ or door causes these rollers to gradually wear a depression in the track-so in their openthat it is hard to start the doors 111g movement because the rollers rest in these depressions. By means ofthis invention a new bearing surfacecan be'provided without disturbingthe car or by the simple operation of inserting a new track member in the old support.

Theprinciple of this invention involves theidea of substituting or supplementing the track formerly used by means of a bearing surface which may freeto rotate and/0r move longitudinally by the normal movement of the door to produce a' continual change of thebearing surfaceso that ifthere is any wear at'all it will be uniformly distributed over a wide surface. I

In some forms of the device this rotational and'longitudinal movement of the bearing may be accomplished by the movement of the door and'in other cases it may be accomplished manually and means provided forlocking the bearing surface inthe desired po sition. With bearing members other. than round, the bearing member can be leftjfree to 'be moved longitudinally by the movement of the door. r. I

One of the important features of this'ink vention resides in the fact that the new hear-- ing surface maybe placed inor added'to the member'forming'the old track so-that a worn present form of supports for sliding;

supporting structure be arranged so as to be out track may be used as a support for the new bearing member. It is, of course, to be understood, however, that the principles of this invention may also be applied to new structures.

For a better understanding of the invention reference will now be made to the drawing. It may first be pointed out that the disclosure has been given solely for p-urposesof illustration and not in any limiting sense since the principles of this invention, as will readily appear to those skilled in the art,'may have wide application. At 1 is shown a support, which may be a platform of a car for" instance, upon which is mounted the vertical supports '2 and 3 forsupportingthe overhead structure. It will be readily apparent guided by'them. Attached to theupper ends of the supports and extending parallel to the lower track's an angle iron 8 to which is secured by any suitable means the channel member 10. At one end of the angle iron 8 and channel member 10 is secured the bracket member 9 and at the other end is attached the bracket member 11. It is understood that r the channelmember 10 represents in general the old track inwhich the convex curved rollers normally rode soas to support the door for sliding movement.

When the principles ofthis invention are 1 applied to old constructions the new track which is shown as a rod or tube 12 is smoothly laid in or on the track member 10. Where this invention is applied to'a new structure the channel member 10 may, of course, assume any suitable form for supporting the rod 12 according to the principles of this invention. The upper edge'of the door is provided with the hangers 14: on which are rotatably mounted the rollers 15 which have concave surfaces so as to ride smoothly; on the rod 12. As

, shownin Fig. 1 the rod 12 is mounted at one end and extends through a hole in the bracket 11. The rod. is provided 'withtwo lock nuts 13," one on either side ofth e bracket 11, so that if desired therod 12may be locked in any desired position and upon releaseof thenuts be moved longitudinally and or rotationally so as to present any desired surface thereof to the rollers 15. a c

ported when they'are closed so that by mov ing the rod 12 a short distance longitudinally and/or rotationally and locking it there a new surface may be presented to the rollers in the position where the door is closed. In the best form of the device it is not necessary to lock the rod 12 but it is in fact better to leave it free, in which case the locking nuts are omitted and therod is not threaded; In

this form the rod 12' may be left of a length to fitbetween the brackets 9 and 11, or it may be left shorter than the distance between these brackets 9and llbutstill of sufiicient length to insure continuous support of the rollers 15 in all positions of the door 5, in which case the rod 12 is free to move longitudinally in its supportingchannel 10 to a limited extent. When the rod 12 is left free it is held in place by the weight of the door 5. bearing upon said rod through the hangers l iand the rollers 15. The rod is therefore re: placeable without disturbing the channel member 10 or its supports 8, and without the necessity of undoing any fastenings. Y

. WVhenthe rod 12 is left free but fits closely between the brackets 9 and 11 as above, its longitudinal movement is substantially pre-. vented but it is free 'to' move rotationally. In this case the rollers 15 are not perfectly aligned with the plane of therod 12 while said rollers are restrained from substantial side movement by the flanges thereon and/or their attachments 14 to the door 5, andthus the. movement of the door 5 produces frictional forces at the contacts between the rollers 15 and the rod 12 which have components tangential to the surface of the rod 12, and

as rod 12 is not restrained from tangential.

movement, the net summative tangential component of these forces causes said rod 12 to rotate about itsaxis.

On the other hand, if the rod 12 is restricted in any manner against rotational movement but is free to move longitudinally in its supporting channel 10 to a considerableextentpthen the movement of the door 5 on the rollers 15 produces frictional forces at thecontacts of the rollers with the rod 12 which forces move the rod 12 in the direction of door travel.

Thus as rod 12 moves in a rotational direction when it is limited in its longitudinal travel,'and as the rod 12 moves in a longitudinal directionwhen it is limited in rotational travel, itis obvious that if the rod is unlimited both as to longitudinal and rotational travel, it will be moved longitudinally and or rotationally by the movement of the door.,.

As is apparent from'the foregoing disclosure it isintended that the channel member 10 support thetrack rod 12 so that that rod is sufficiently free that it may be moved longitu- I I p v a i v dinally and/or rotationally by the rollers as Aswas pointedout above, the greatest wear a s a hereint Where h cdae r they move over. it. It is not necessary therethroughout its length but only supported sufiiciently so that it is free in the above sense. It will be apparent therefore, that the rod is supported substantially throughout its length within the purpose of this invention so long as it is supported sufficiently so that it will be moved longitudinally and/or rotationally as the rollers move thereover whether or not the rollers arelongitudinally displaced.

It is pointed out here that it is not necessary, however, to set the rollers out of alignment since it is found that the normal mo tion of the door eflects sufiicient movement of the rod both longitudinally and rotationally without positively placing the rollers out of alignment.

It will be at once apparent that we have provided an exceedingly simple and eflicient device by means of which the track on which sliding doors are supported may be made to continually present fresh surfaces so that wear upon it will be distributed over a greater area, thus materially lengthening the useful life of the bearing'surface member and providing that when wearing surface renewals do become necessary, such renewals may be made by renewal of a light wearing surface rod or member only, in contrast with 30 the heretofore common major portions of or the entire track.

The principles of thisinvention art not restricted to a track member which is round since we have found that it may be applied 35 to track members having various crosssectional shapes, such as oval or polygonal, as for instance rectangular and triangular. Where the polygonal shapes are used the rollers will, of course, be modified so as to have suitable surfaces to correctly contact with the track member. In any form of the device, except that using the circular bearing member, no rotational movement will be effected by the movement of the door. Longitudinal movement of the bearing member by manual means may be effected and the bearing member then looked in the desired position. The bearing member is of course not looked against movement when it is intended to have the member move longitudinally by the movement of the door.

Also another form of the device contemplates a track member substantially square in cross-section but having each surface of the rod concave so that a roller having convex surfaces may be used. In this case the track member maybe rotated and moved longitudinally by manual means and locked in place or left free. In this case the track memher may be moved longitudinally by the movement of the door, or longitudinal and/or rotational movement of the track member may be effected by manual means and the bearing member then looked in the desired position, or it may be left free practice of renewing to move longitudinally. V

Furthermore, the principles of this inventionmay be ap lied to'han'gers having one or more wheelswhetherused in straight line formation or whether mounted parallel to "each other and used'in connection with many of the well known devices of cage, truck or buggy constructions new used for-supporting doors. 1, It will be at once apparent that many changesiin thedetails of construction and relative arrangement of parts will readily occur to those skilled in this art without departing from theprinciples' of this invention and we do not, therefore, desire to be limited v tached to said hangers, of a support for the door comprising a free rod, said rollers being supported slightly out of longitudinal alignment so as to effectcontinuousmo-vement of said rod, and means for guiding the door at its lower edge. 2. In a device of the type described, the combinationwith a slidable door having at least two hangers thereon and a roller rotatably supported on each of hangers, said rollers having concaveperipheries and being out of longitudinal alignment, of a support and a round track member freely mounted on said support so as to be rotated by the movement of the rollers thereover.

3. The combination comprising a movable I door having hangers thereon and rollers supported onsaid hangers having concave peripheries, of a channel member supported over said door and a round rod. freely supported substantially throughout its length in said channel member and arranged to provide a track for said rollers. 4. In an apparatus of the type described, the combination with a movable door having hangers thereon and rollers rotatably at tached to said hangers, of a support for'the.

door comprising a free rod, said rollers being supportedslightly out of longitudinal align ment so as to effect continuous movement of said rod upon movement of the door.

. 5. The combination comprising a movable, j.

door having hangers thereon and rollers sup ported on said hangers, of a channel member supported over said door and a round rod freely supported substantially throughout its length'in said channel member and arranged to provide a track for said rollers, said rod being moved longitudinally and/or rotationally by the frictionalforces between the rollers and the of the door.

6. The combination comprising a movable rod due tothe movement I 7 a4 man ue door having hangers'thereon androllers sup- 1 ported on said hangers, of a bearing member supported over said. door, a round; rod freely supported substantially throughout 5 its length on said bearing member: and arranged to provide a track for said rollers, and means for limiting longitudinal movement of the rod, said rod being moved rotationally :by the frictional forces betweenthe rollers and the rod due to the movement of' the door. a

In testimony whereof We have hereunto set our hands on this 17th'day of August, A. D. 1931. V w :GARL S.-KLUMPP.. .ROBERT R; POTTER: 1 

